Investigating the Importance of Integrating Intercultural Communicative Competence in EFL Classrooms: Moroccan High Schools as a Case Study

Abstract

In this super-globalized world, English has proven to be an effective tool that enables people worldwide to become familiar with other cultures rather than their own. Therefore, intercultural communicative competence (ICC) is essential in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) educational settings. Thus, this paper assesses the salience of integrating intercultural communicative competence in Moroccan EFL classrooms and the possible ways to do that. The data in this study was gathered through an online questionnaire targeting Moroccan high school teachers of English. The sample of this survey consists of 93 out of 100 participants. The data were qualitatively organized and analyzed in graphs. The results showed that teaching intercultural communicative competence is crucial for the students for communicative reasons. The analysis also demonstrated that ICC can strengthen students’ intercultural awareness and help them quickly integrate into the global workplace environment. Nevertheless, the results revealed many obstacles that can hinder the integration of ICC in EFL classrooms. Such results provide significant implications regarding the extent to which ICC is necessary to assist students in navigating cultural and communicative challenges.